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NSWGeographyQuick questions
Focus Area: Global sustainability (2022 syllabus)
Quick questions on Global economic inequality and development: HSC Geography 2022 Focus Area
9short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is measuring development?Show answer
A strong geographical response notes that no single indicator captures development and uses multiple metrics in combination.
What is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?Show answer
Adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as the successor to the Millennium Development Goals, the SDGs are 17 goals with 169 targets intended to be achieved by 2030. They cover poverty (Goal 1), hunger (Goal 2), health (Goal 3), education (Goal 4), gender equality (Goal 5), water and sanitation (Goal 6), affordable clean energy (Goal 7), decent work (Goal 8), industry and infrastructure (Goal 9), reduced inequalities (Goal 10), sustainable cities (Goal 11), responsible consumption (Goal 12), climate action (Goal 13), life below water (Goal 14), life on land (Goal 15), peace and institutions (Goal 16), and partnerships (Goal 17).
What is trade?Show answer
Lower-income countries are often dependent on primary commodity exports (minerals, agricultural goods) whose prices fluctuate. Trade rules (WTO) historically favoured manufactured exports of higher-income countries.
What is aid?Show answer
Official Development Assistance (ODA) from OECD member countries to lower-income partners. The UN target is 0.7 percent of donor GNI; most donors fall short. Australia's aid budget is below 0.7 percent and concentrated in the Indo-Pacific.
What is debt?Show answer
Many lower-income countries carry sovereign debt loads that consume a large share of government revenue in repayments, crowding out spending on health and education. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative have provided debt relief to qualifying countries since 1996.
What is foreign Direct Investment?Show answer
Cross-border investment by multinational corporations can build infrastructure and jobs but can also extract value (transfer pricing, low taxation, environmental externalities).
What is q1?Show answer
Identify the three components of the Human Development Index and explain why HDI is preferred over GDP per capita as a development measure. [4 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Analyse two mechanisms (trade, aid, debt or FDI) that shape the development gap between countries. [6 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Evaluate the effectiveness of the Sustainable Development Goals as a coordination framework for addressing global inequality. [8 marks]